Rope-splicing machine.



C. N. MCCLINTOCK. ROPE SPLICING MACHIN.

APPucATloN man Nov. 30. 1915.

1,209,186. v Patented De.19,1916.

2 sEzTs-SHEET 1.

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C; N. McCLlNOCK.

ROPE S'PLICING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 30. 1915.

1,209,186. Patented De@.19,1916.

2 SHEETS-'SHEET 2.

m: mms ferns co.4 :wom-uma.. msu/m: nm. n c' UNITE@ SES ROPE-SPLICINGMACHINE.

Application filed November 30, 1915.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES N. MGCLIN- Toon, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elwood, in the county of Madison and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRope-Splicing Machines, of which the following is a specific-ation.

This invention relates to the general subject of wire stapling machines,and has particular reference to a novel device for tying or uniting ropeends with wire.

Primarily, the invention has in view the provision of a device that isof special utility in securely fastening the ends of the rope lengthstogetherl in the manufacture of rope halters, and wherein it isnecessary to not only provide a strong, tight joint, but one that issmooth and without burs or rough edges that might cut or otherwiseinjure the animal. Although the invention is particularly useful in thisadaptation, it will of course be understood that the same isnot limitedto this application, but is susceptible to a wide range of uses, whereinfree or loose ends of ropes, cables and the like are to be fastened orconnected to form a secure joint, or else to form a splice to make shortpieces into continuous lengths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and practicaldevice that not only crosses the wire tie over the ends of the ropes tobe joined, but also compresses the rope ends and then buries or imbedsthe ends of the wire staple into the body of the joint, thus making acompact and safe union.

A further object is to provide a strong and reliable device whereby amaximum force may be applied on the tie wire or staple by a foot lever,while the bending elements actuated thereby are controlled by a handlever which insures accuracy ofadjustment, and thereby materially aidsin forming a perfect joint.

FJ ith the above and other objects in view which will more readilyvappear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the sameconsists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

Serial N o. 64,329.

the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichlFigure l is a side elevation of the present invention. Fig. 2 is anenlarged horizontal sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 isan enlarged elevation of the staple head, with a stapler and rope endtherein, and the bender' members carried by the compression rods crossedto receive the free ends of the staple. Fig. l is a view similar to Fig.3, showing the position of the hand lever when the bender members arebrought back to normal position to cross the wire overthe rope. Fig. 5is a view similar to Figs. 3 and t, but showing the bender memberscarried from their normal position indicated by dotted lines, to a lowerposition to bend the crossed ends of the wire staple around the ropeends to be united. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a wire stapleof the type preferably used for tying the rope ends together. Fig. 7 isa detail perspective view of a finished joint formed by the presentmachine.

Similar reference characters designate Corresponding parts throughoutthe several Lfigures of the drawings.

In carrying out the present invention, it is proposed to provide amachine which will be as light'as possible, consistent with thenecessary structural strength for obtaining the desired leverage andcompression to make a smooth, compact joint, and to this end, theinvention essentially comprises a light but strongand substantialmetallic framework, including the relatively fixed supporting standardsl and 2. v

Y As will be observed from Fig. l, the standard 2 is provided with anangular attaching portion 8 having at one end an opening 4 for receivinga screw or equivalent fastening for securing the machine to the floor.The upper end of this rod is preferably symmetrical, and substantiallyparallel with the opposite standard l which is maintained in itsrelatively fixed` position, by being attached to the cross frame 'member5. That is to say, the standard 2 being secured to the floor, provides arigid support, but the standard l, for purposes which will hereinaftermore fullyv appear, is preferably free to swing at its Vlower end, butis given a with the standard 2 by means of the boltsV In connection withthe standards 1 and 2, and their attachment with the cross piece 5 bythe bolts 6 and 8, it will be noted that the standard 1 is preferablypivoted on the bolt 6, so that the said standard 1 will have anadjustment play, but no vertical movement. The purpose of thisarrangement is to provide for the relative adjustment of the jaw ends 9and 10 of the standards 1 and 2. That is to say, in order to accommodateropes or Cables of different diameters, it is obvious that it isnecessary to Vary the space between the jaws 9 and 10 of thesestandards, and in order to accurately accomplish this result, the saidstandard 1 is provided at a point below the pivot 6 with a suitableadjusting screw 11. As will be clear from Fig. 1, this screw is inthreaded engagement with the standard 1, and has its end 12 bearingagainst the stationary standard 2. Thus, as the same is screwed into thebar 1, the end 12 thereof will abut against the bar 2,' and consequentlythe bar 1 will be pushed away from 2 below the pivot 6 so that the jaw 9of the standard 1 will move toward the jaw of the bar 2, and thus narrowthe space therebetween. The reverse rotation of the screw allows forwidening` the space between the upper ends of the bars, and enables thesame to receive ropes of larger diameter.

The jaws 9 and 10 of the relatively fixed supporting bars or standards 1and 2 constitute a staple head, designated in its entirety by thecharacter H, and which preferably includes a socket S for receiving therope ends. As will be clear from the foregoing description, the relativeadjustment of the aw 9 of the bar 1 with respect to the jaw 10 of thestandard 2, permits the socket to be made larger or smaller to suitdifferent size ropes. The extreme upper ends of the jaws are providedwith clearance faces 13 and 14 which are beveled in opposite directions,and are also provided with open vertically disposed disalined slots 15and 16 which are adapted to receive the arms 17 and 18 respectively ofthe bridge piece 19, the center of which is preferably formed into arectangular anvil block 20, constituting a support for the base of thestaple when it is placed in'the head H. From Fig. 2, it will be seenthat the inner sides of the jaws 9 and 10 have formed therein suitablegrooves 21 and 22 which are designed to receive the opposite arms ofeach staple,

while the base thereof rests on the block 20. lt will also be observedfrom this gure that the grooves 21 and 22 are out of alinement, so thatwhen the staple is placed in the head H, it will assume an obliqueposition, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby great-lyfacilitating the bending down of the staple ends without interferenceand forming the complete loop for embracing and compressing the ropeends.

Gn each side of the relatively fixed standards 1 and 2, are therelatively movable compression rods 23 and 24, having at their upperends the disalined bending members 25 and 26, respectively. The saidrods are loosely connected at their lower ends as at 27 and 28 withactuating plate 29, which has pivotally connected thereto as at 30, a.link 31. This link 31 connects at 32 with a foot lever 33 pivoted at Pto the rigid standard 2. Another link 34 connects with the link 31 alsoat 32 and is pivoted as at to the extreme lower end of the standard 1.Therefore, upon a downward movement of the foot lever 33, the link 31will draw the actuating plate 29 downwardly, and thereby pull thecompression rods 23 and 24 downward also. For the purpose of maintainingthe actuating plate 29 in its normal position, the same is supported `bythe springs 36 and 37 which have their lower ends connected with thebolts 27 and 28, while their upper ends are attached to the lower one ofthe bolts 8 on the cross frame 5.

As the compression rods 23 and 24 are pivotally carried with the plate29 by means of the bolts 27 and 28 it will be clear that the bendingmembers 25 and 26 may readily be brought toward each other, and sincethey are so arranged on the standards that they are out of transversealinement, they may readily pass each other as shown in Fig. 3. In orderto control the crossing of the bender members 25 and 26, the compressionrod 24 has pivotally connected therewith as at 38 a hand lever 39, whichis in turn connected as at 40 with a link 41 which connects as at 42with the oppositev standard 23. Thus, as the operator moves the handlever upwardly, the standards 23 and 24 will be drawn toward each other,and when the handle of the lever 39 is thrust downwardly, the standardsare forced apart. For the purpose of preventing the standards beingforced more than the required distance apart to properly bend the wirearound the rope ends, the rod 23 carries a gage plate 43 having avertical slot 44 for receiving the lever 39. The depth of this slot 44may be varied by means of a suitable thumb nut device 45 arrangedslidably therein. Accordingly, it will be clear that when ropes ofvarying diameter are used, the downward throw of the lever 39 may bereadily controlled through the adjustment iso L of the nut 45 in theslot 44, thus preventing the bender heads 25 and 26 being forced so farapart that Athey will miss the ends of the wire staple upon theirdownward stroke.

With further reference to the bending heads 25 and 26 carried by theupper end of the vertically movable compression rods 23 and 24, it willbe observed that the same are provided on their inner side faces with asuitable die recess 46, and a bender boss 47 having a rounded nose 48 atits lower end. Owing to the oblique disposition of` the staple in thesocket S of the head I-I, it will be clear from Figs. l and 3 that whenthe members 25 and 26 are brought into crossing relation the die recess46 of the bending element 25 will receive the free end of the staplewhich is farthest from the normal position of the bender head, whilerecess-46 of the bending member 26 will likewise receive the other endof the staple which is farthest therefrom.

.Referring now to the operation of the device, it will be noted thatFig. l shows the normal position of all of the several parts. In thisposition, the foot lever 33 is inclined upwardly, and the hand lever 39is in its atrest position, thus permitting the compression rods 23 and24 to assume their normal position, whereby the bending members 25 and26 are situ-ated above 4the bender head I-I. With the parts in thisposition, a U-shaped staple of the character shown in Fig. 6 is placedin the staple grooves 21 and 22 of the socket S, so that theentirestaple is disposed obliquely across the block 20 of the anvil 19.The ends of therrope to be tied or spliced, are then placed within thearms of the staple, in superposed relation, and the device is ready forforming the wire loop about the rope ends.

The operator rst raises the hand lever 39J to bring compression rods 23and 24 toward each other on the bolts 27 and 28 as pivots, thus crossingthe bending members 25 and 26 so that the die recesses 46 thereof` areplaced in position to respectively receive the free end of the staplefarthest from the normal position of the bender member which engages thesame. After the bender members 25 and 26 are thus brought into crossingrelation, and into position. for receiving the ends of the staple, aslight downward movement upon the foot lever 33 causes the plate 29 tomove downward and thus pull the compression rods also downward carryingtherewith the members 25 and 26, thereby placing all of the exposed endsof each arm of the staple within the die recesses 46 thereof. While thefree ends of the staple are thus engaged in the die recesses, andpressure is maintained upon the foot lever 33, the hand lever 39 ismoved downwardly to thereby push the rods 23 and 24 apart, thusseparating or lpulling the members 25 and26 back toward their normalposition, and crossing the free ends of the staple over the .top ropeend, as clearly-shown in Fig. 4. In this way, the wire staple is formedinto a loop around the rope ends, but as yet has not been tightened sothat the joint is made secure.

From the position shown in Fig. 4, further pressure on the foot lever 33pulls the members 25 and 26 downwardly to theV position shown in Fig. 5,thus bending the free ends of the staple by means of the rounded noses48 of the bending bosses 47 on each of the members 25 and 26, into acomplete loop formation. As the downward pressure on the foot lever 33is continued, the hand lever 39 is preferably slightly raised so thatthe compression members 23 and 24 are brought toward each other, thusforcing the curved end edge 49 of the members 25 and 26 against the cutends of the wire staple and firmly compressing the same into the ropeends. As the upward pressure on the hand lever 39 and downward pressureon the foot lever 33 continues, it will be apparent that the curvedportions of the rounded edges 49 of the members 25 and 26 will force theeXtreme ends of the staple into the body of the ropeV shown in Fig. 7the hand lever 39 is moved back to normal position shown in Fig. 1, andas soon as the foot pressure on the lever 33 is removed, the springs 36and 37 will Vpull the plate 29 upwardly, and thus return the members 25and 26 carried` at the upper ends of the compression rods 2,3 and 24 tonormal position ready for the. neXt operation. v Y

Without further description it is believed that the many features andadvantages of the invention `will be readily apparent, and it will alsobe understood that various changes in the form, proportion'and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A machine of the class described including. a staple-holding headhaving a socket for receiving a staple, bending means normally disposedabove said head, means for moving said bending means into position toengage the ends of said staple ar-` ranged within said staple socket,and means for moving said bending means while engaged with the ends ofthe staple to form means for moving said elements into crossingrelation, means for moving said bending means while crossed intoengagement with the end portions of said staple and urther moving thesame to bend the said end portions into a loop, and means carried bysaid bending elements for turning the extremities of the staple inwardlytoward each other when the loop is formed.

3. A machine of the class described including a staple-holding headhaving a socket or receiving a staple, bending elements normallydisposed above said head, means for moving said elements toward and fromeach other to engage with the ends of said staple, and means for movingboth elements together while engaged with the staple in such a directionas to bend the ends of the same into the form of a loop.

4. A machine of the class described including a relatively iXed staplehead having an adjustable staple socket, oppositely arranged bendingmembers movable toward said head, and means for bringing said bendingmembers into crossing relation and spreading the same apart.

5. A machine of the class described including relatively fixedsupporting standards having a staple receiving socket at their upperends, oppositely arranged compressing rods, bending 'members carried bythe upper ends of said rods, means for reciprocating said compressionrods, and means for also varying the lateral distance therebetween.

6. A machine of the class described including a staple-holding headcomprising adjustable jaw members providing a stapleholding socket,bending members coperating with said head, means for varying the lateraldistance between the said bending members, and separate means forimparting a movement thereto at right angles to said lateral movement.

7. A machine of the class described including a staple-holding headcomprising opposite jaw members having disalined slots and spaced toprovide a staple socket, and bending means movable transversely andlongitudinally of said staple-head and adapted to work in said slots.

8. A machine of the class described including a staple head comprisingspaced adjustable jaw members, a bridge piece lying between said jawmembers and coperating therewith to provide a staple socket, andreciprocating bending means movable with respect to said jaw members.

9. AV machine of the class described including a staple head comprisingspaced adjustable jaw members having disalined slots and obliquelylocated staple receiving grooves on their inner faces, a bridge piecefitting in said slots and having an anvil portion, said bridge piececooperating with crossed relation, and means for imparting areciprocatory motion thereto.

11. A machine of the class described including a staple head comprisingspaced adjustable jaw members forming a staple socket, staple bendingmeans consisting of oppositely arranged compression rods, disalinedbender members carried by said rods, a hand-lever device for bringingsaid bender members into crossing relation and separating the same, anda foot-lever device for actuating said compression rods.

12. A machine of the class described including a staple head comprisingspaced adjustable jaw members providing a staple socket, staple bendingmeans consisting of oppositely arranged compression rods, an actuatingplate pivotally connected to the lower ends oit' said rods, springs formaintaining said plate in normal position, disalined bender memberscarried by the upper ends of said rods, a hand-lever device for bringingsaid bender members into crossing relation and separating the same, anda foot-lever device for actuating the plate to which the compressionrods are attached.

13. Almachine of the class described including a pair of spacedsupporting stand'- ards, a rigid frame piece for pivotally connectingwith said standards and maintaining the same in spaced relation, jawsformed at the upper ends of said standards, means for adjusting thespace between the jaws, and bending means movable vertically andlaterally with respect to said jaws.

14. A machine of the class described including a pair of spacedsupporting standards, a rigid frame piece pivotally supporting saidstandards, jaws formed at the upper end of said standards, means foradjusting the space between said jaws, compression rods arranged onopposite sides of the standards, bend-ing members carried by the upperends of said rods, an actuating plate pivotally connected to said rods,means for reciprocating said plate, and means for moving said rodslaterally with respect to each other.

15. A machine of the class described including a pair of spacedsupporting standards, a rigid frame-piece pivotally connected with saidstandards, jaws formedat the upper ends thereof, means carried by one ofsaid standards for adjusting the space between said jaws, compressionrods arranged on opposite sides of the standards, disalined bendingmembers carried by the upper .ends In testimony whereof I hereunto ax myof said rods, an actuating plate pivotally signature in the presence oftwo Witnesses.

connected with said rods springs connecting said plate with said rigidframe-piece, CHAS' N' MCCLINTOCK a 'foot-lever device for reciprocatingsaid Witnesses:

plate, and means vfor moving said rods lat- R. E. MARSHALL, erally Withrespect to each other. CEAS. H. F IsK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, ID. C.

